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April Has Been Bloomin' Awesome for 4 FFC/FCF Customers!

Apr 2022

This month, everything is coming up roses for four of our exceptional borrowers!

First, two of our customers swept the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) North and South Florida Districts Small Business Persons of the Year awards:

• Dennis Chan of Blue Bamboo Canton and Bistro (Jacksonville, FL).
• Rodger Pridgeon of Corporate Air, Inc. (Vero Beach, FL).

Next, our customers were selected as 2022 SBA Small Business Persons of the Year for Alabama and Florida. The award recognizes an exemplary entrepreneur from each of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

• Roland G. Brown of Brown Precision (Huntsville, AL).
• Dennis Chan of Blue Bamboo Canton and Bistro (Jacksonville, FL).

But wait – there’s more!

Another of our extraordinary customers was chosen from nominees across the nation to become the inaugural 2022 504 Borrower Hall of Fame inductee by the by the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO).

• College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk and Moving (Tampa, FL).

Florida First Capital/First Capital Finance (FFC/FCF) celebrates the tremendous success of these outstanding small businesses and their impact on our economy and the communities they serve.

South Florida District SBA Small Business Person of the Year: Rodger Pridgeon

Corporate Air is a family-owned business and a 34-year tenant of the City of Vero Beach and the Vero Beach Regional Airport. Established in 1987 by Mr. Pridgeon, the company is a full-service fixed base operator (FBO) providing aircraft maintenance, hangar space and charter jet services.

From a single hangar, the company has expanded to four large hangars and a new $2.5 million state-of-the-art passenger terminal facility. Corporate Air has constructed more hangar space and expanded more existing ramp space on the airport than any other airport tenant and exceeds all other FBO operators in fuel flowage income to the City of Vero Beach.

Corporate Air obtained former Florida Governor Rick Scott's approval in December 2018 for its proposal to finance the construction and annual operations of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection User Fee Facility to be located on the Vero Beach Regional Airport. The company has secured additional airport lot space to locate the building in its expansion plans.

North Florida District and State of Florida SBA Small Business Person of the Year: Chef Dennis Chan

Located in Jacksonville, Florida, Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro is the latest chapter in a family history that includes multiple restaurants. Chef Dennis’ food-centric upbringing ultimately led him to the Culinary Institute of America.

Following an internship at Blue Ginger in Boston, Chef Dennis returned to Jacksonville and launched Blue Bamboo in 2005. In 2019, after leasing the existing restaurant space for 14 years, Chef Dennis purchased and renovated his own 4,300 square-foot building plus a 2,700 square-foot expansion with the help of an SBA 504 loan through FFCFC Vice President and Business Development Officer Kristen Tackett. The project retained 16 staff positions and created 4 new jobs.

State of Alabama SBA Small Business Person of the Year: Roland G. Brown

Brown Precision, Inc. (BPI) is a family-owned company with over 40 years’ experience in precision machining for clients in the aerospace and medical industries. The company manufactures complex components ranging from aircraft and helicopter components to artificial human joints.

Since Mr. Brown joined the company in 1995, BPI has grown to nearly 180 employees and over $22 million in sales. In addition to its 53,803 square-foot facility in Huntsville, Alabama in 2016, BPI opened a new 30,000 square-foot manufacturing plant in Atmore, Alabama.

In 2021, BPI took advantage of the below-market, fixed interest rates provided by the SBA 504 Debt Refinancing Program and consolidated their mortgage and equipment loans through FCF Business Development Officers Angie Sweatman and Drew Tomlin.

NADCO 2022 504 Borrower Hall of Fame Inductee: College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk and Moving

Nearly 20 years ago, College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving was born through the ingenuity of the two longtime friends Nick Friedman (pictured above) and Omar Soliman during a summer break from college. Within 4 years, College H.U.N.K.S. (Honest, Uniformed, Nice, Knowledgeable, Service) would expand with franchises across the United States. Today, they boast more than 150 franchises and are the fastest growing business of its type in America.

In 2017, College H.U.N.K.S. secured SBA 504 financing through FFCFC Vice President and Business Development Officer Scott Radway, in partnership with Aaron Jimison of Valley National Bank, to purchase and renovate a 46,765 square-foot building to increase its national call center operations. The following year, the company expanded once again with another SBA 504 loan through FFCFC and Valley National for the purchase of a 2,916 square-foot building to grow its doorstep trash pick-up services. The two projects created nearly 40 new jobs for the community.

In April 2020, College H.U.N.K.S. announced an initiative to provide free moving services to domestic violence victims. By year’s end, through coordination with shelters and social workers, they helped more than 100 victims leave dangerous situations. The company also partners with U.S. Hunger and, for every moving or junk removal service completed, they provide two nutritious meals to feed hungry children. To date, more than 2 million meals have been donated by College H.U.N.K.S.

”The combination of their origin story, business success and especially their focus on giving back are all hallmarks of a business to be recognized as the NADCO 504 Borrower Hall of Fame,” wrote NADCO Senior Vice President of Conferences and Operations, Mandy Robertson, in a congratulatory message. “We are honored to have College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving be our very first inductee.”

The SBA 504 Loan Program provides up to 90% financing at below-market, fixed interest rates and long amortization terms up to 25 years for the purchase of major fixed assets, such as owner-occupied commercial real estate, renovations, new construction, energy efficient “green” initiatives and/or fixed heavy duty machinery and equipment, as well as the refinance of commercial mortgage and other business debt with or without a cash-out option.

504 loans are paired with private-sector commercial loans and provide up to $5 million of aggregate SBA eligibility on standard 504 projects; up to $5.5 million per 504 energy efficient green project not exceed $16.5 million in the aggregate; and up to $5.5 million per eligible small manufacturing project with no limit on total SBA dollars available. These are SBA 2nd mortgage loan portions only; there is no limit on overall project dollar size.

For more information about SBA 504 loans in Alabama, Florida or Georgia, contact a Florida First Capital Loan Officer or email us at info@ffcfc.com. Phone: 850.681.3601 or toll-free at 888.320.5504.